Radiation therapy has been employed to treat tumorous tissue. In radiation therapy, a high energy beam is applied from an external source towards the patient. The external source, which may be rotating (as in the case for arc therapy), produces a collimated beam of radiation that is directed into the patient to the target site. The dose and placement of the dose must be accurately controlled to ensure that the tumor receives sufficient radiation, and that damage to the surrounding healthy tissue is minimized.
Existing radiation machines for providing treatment radiation beam may include a bore, into which the patient is placed during a treatment procedure. Other radiation machines may include an arm that carries the radiation source, wherein the patient is placed at an operative position relative to the source during a procedure. Similarly, existing imaging machines, such as CT machines, for obtaining images of the patient also include a bore, into which the patient is placed during an imaging procedure.
Applicants of the subject application determines that the bores of existing treatment and imaging machines may be too small, and that a patient may not feel comfortable when confined within the limited space of the bore of the treatment or imaging machine. Also, for treatment and imaging machines that do not include a bore, but include an arm for carrying the radiation source, the configuration of the arm may be limiting in some situations. This is especially the case when the patient is overweight, and/or when a treatment or imaging session takes a while to complete. If the distance between the patient and the source is too small, the patient may not feel comfortable. Thus, applicants of the subject application determine that it would be desirable to provide a new patient support system for addressing the above problems.